1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems for supporting and hanging pipes and other loads on rooftops.
2. Background Art
It is common in a commercial industrial environment to have various operating pipes, conduits, and other equipment positioned on and extending along the ground or over the tops of roofs. For example, these pipes and conduits may be connected to an air conditioning unit positioned on a building roof.
Frequently, the pipes carry fluids which have operating temperatures fluctuating over a wide range. As the temperature of the fluids carried by the pipes changes, the pipes expand and contract accordingly. Typically, the pipes may expand and contract greatly. Therefore, the support for these pipes, as they run over the ground and/or over a roof, must sustain a pipe load, but also must be sufficiently flexible to withstand the expansion and contraction caused by fluctuations in operating parameters and the prevailing weather.
On a building roof, it was common practice for operating pipes to be supported by a series of blocks of wood spaced at intervals along the pipe track. However, the blocks would move due to the expansion and contraction of the pipes eventually causing damage to the roof. Mechanical attachment of the blocks, such as fasteners, deteriorated over time and led to leaks at the attachment holes. Another alternative was to penetrate the roof with a vehicle post which is attached to the building structure. Invariably, the seal between the roof and the post will fail, resulting in a leak.
The prior art teaches a method and apparatus for overcoming the difficulties experienced in supporting and hanging pipes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,800 B1 issued to same assignee on Dec. 4, 2001 discloses a plastic support base and is incorporated by reference herein. This base is a non-affixed base for supporting roof top equipment, including a substantially flat bottom having a support structure rising from the base. The support base is configured for attaching a variety of interfacing bracketry and support devices thereto. Accordingly, the support base requires a plurality of recesses and configurations for receiving bracketry and support devices, and requires a plurality of relatively thick structural configurations for supporting this hardware. Although the support base provides a cost effective solution for supporting and hanging a variety of loads, the support base is relatively excessive for supporting light loads.
The prior art provides support bases for supporting relatively light roof top loads. However, these bases have complex geometries requiring large quantities of material and manufacturing time, resulting in high manufacturing costs. Further, these bases for small loads may include machined components inserted or affixed thereto, thus further increasing manufacturing costs. Additionally, these prior art support bases may require a mechanical attachment to the surface, thus leading to possible failures in the mechanical attachment and possible leaks in the roof top or similar surface.
Therefore, a need exists for a non-fixed portable base for supporting pipes and other equipment of a relatively small load, which also provides advantages of being cost effective to manufacture due to its design and the inherent geometries of the base which require minimal material and time to manufacture, and occupies a reasonable amount of floor space relative to the supported load.
An object of the present invention is to provide a support base for distributing a concentrated load over a generally planar surface. The support base includes a baseplate formed of a moldable polymeric material having a top surface and a generally planar bottom surface. At least one tubular sleeve is formed integral with the baseplate and extends from the top surface to define an upper portion and a lower cavity which is open to the bottom surface. A cap is formed integral with the baseplate and is oriented at the distal end of the sleeve lower portion, partially enclosing the cavity and defining the cavity height. A through bore is formed through the cap generally coaxial with the cavity for receiving a fastener. An array of projections, also formed integral with the baseplate, extend upward from a top surface of the cap and are spaced around the through bore to provide a generally planar mounting surface.
The above objects and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.